Full Text of HB2460 103rd General Assembly
HB2460 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024 HB2460 Introduced 2/15/2023, by Rep. Martin J. Moylan SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
| 105 ILCS 5/26-1 | from Ch. 122, par. 26-1 |
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Amends the Pupils and Compulsory Attendance Article of the School Code. Provides that a child in any of grades 9 through 12 may be absent from public school on a particular day or days
or at a particular time of day for the purpose of filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or other higher education scholarship, grant, or financial aid application. Provides that a school
board may require the parent or guardian of the child to give
notice, not exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school
principal or other school personnel. Provides that the child may be absent from public school for a maximum of 2 school days per school year. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning education.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | 5 | | 26-1 as follows:
| 6 | | (105 ILCS 5/26-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 26-1)
| 7 | | Sec. 26-1. Compulsory school age; exemptions. Whoever has | 8 | | custody or control of any child (i) between the ages of 7 and | 9 | | 17
years (unless the child has already graduated from high | 10 | | school) for school years before the 2014-2015 school year or | 11 | | (ii) between the ages
of 6 (on or before September 1) and 17 | 12 | | years (unless the child has already graduated from high | 13 | | school) beginning with the 2014-2015 school year
shall cause | 14 | | such child to attend some public school in the district
| 15 | | wherein the child resides the entire time it is in session | 16 | | during the
regular school term, except as provided in Section | 17 | | 10-19.1, and during a
required summer school program | 18 | | established under Section 10-22.33B; provided,
that
the | 19 | | following children shall not be required to attend the public | 20 | | schools:
| 21 | | 1. Any child attending a private or a parochial school | 22 | | where children
are taught the branches of education taught | 23 | | to children of corresponding
age and grade in the public |
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| 1 | | schools, and where the instruction of the child
in the | 2 | | branches of education is in the English language;
| 3 | | 2. Any child who is physically or mentally unable to | 4 | | attend school, such
disability being certified to the | 5 | | county or district truant officer by a
competent physician | 6 | | licensed in Illinois to practice medicine and surgery in | 7 | | all its branches, a chiropractic physician licensed under | 8 | | the Medical Practice Act of 1987, a licensed advanced | 9 | | practice registered nurse, a licensed physician assistant, | 10 | | or a Christian Science practitioner residing in this
State | 11 | | and listed in the Christian Science Journal; or who is | 12 | | excused for
temporary absence for cause by
the principal | 13 | | or teacher of the school which the child attends, with | 14 | | absence for cause by illness being required to include the | 15 | | mental or behavioral health of the child for up to 5 days | 16 | | for which the child need not provide a medical note, in | 17 | | which case the child shall be given the opportunity to | 18 | | make up any school work missed during the mental or | 19 | | behavioral health absence and, after the second mental | 20 | | health day used, may be referred to the appropriate school | 21 | | support personnel; the exemptions
in this paragraph (2) do | 22 | | not apply to any female who is pregnant or the
mother of | 23 | | one or more children, except where a female is unable to | 24 | | attend
school due to a complication arising from her | 25 | | pregnancy and the existence
of such complication is | 26 | | certified to the county or district truant officer
by a |
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| 1 | | competent physician;
| 2 | | 3. Any child necessarily and lawfully employed | 3 | | according to the
provisions of the law regulating child | 4 | | labor may be excused from attendance
at school by the | 5 | | county superintendent of schools or the superintendent of
| 6 | | the public school which the child should be attending, on | 7 | | certification of
the facts by and the recommendation of | 8 | | the school board of the public
school district in which | 9 | | the child resides. In districts having part-time
| 10 | | continuation schools, children so excused shall attend | 11 | | such schools at
least 8 hours each week;
| 12 | | 4. Any child over 12 and under 14 years of age while in | 13 | | attendance at
confirmation classes;
| 14 | | 5. Any child absent from a public school on a | 15 | | particular day or days
or at a particular time of day for | 16 | | the reason that he is unable to attend
classes or to | 17 | | participate in any examination, study, or work | 18 | | requirements on
a particular day or days or at a | 19 | | particular time of day because of religious reasons, | 20 | | including the observance of a religious holiday or | 21 | | participation in religious instruction, or because the | 22 | | tenets
of his religion forbid secular activity on a | 23 | | particular day or days or at a
particular time of day. A | 24 | | school
board may require the parent or guardian of a child | 25 | | who is to be excused
from attending school because of | 26 | | religious reasons to give
notice, not exceeding 5 days, of |
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| 1 | | the child's absence to the school
principal or other | 2 | | school personnel. Any child excused from attending
school | 3 | | under this paragraph 5 shall not be required to submit a | 4 | | written
excuse for such absence after returning to school. | 5 | | A district superintendent shall develop and distribute to | 6 | | schools appropriate procedures regarding a student's | 7 | | absence for religious reasons, how schools are notified of | 8 | | a student's impending absence for religious reasons, and | 9 | | the requirements of Section 26-2b of this Code; | 10 | | 6. Any child 16 years of age or older who (i) submits | 11 | | to a school district evidence of necessary and lawful | 12 | | employment pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Section and | 13 | | (ii) is enrolled in a graduation incentives program | 14 | | pursuant to Section 26-16 of this Code or an alternative | 15 | | learning opportunities program established pursuant to | 16 | | Article 13B of this Code;
| 17 | | 7. A child in any of grades 6 through 12 absent from a | 18 | | public school on a particular day or days or at a | 19 | | particular time of day for the purpose of sounding "Taps" | 20 | | at a military honors funeral held in this State for a | 21 | | deceased veteran. In order to be excused under this | 22 | | paragraph 7, the student shall notify the school's | 23 | | administration at least 2 days prior to the date of the | 24 | | absence and shall provide the school's administration with | 25 | | the date, time, and location of the military
honors | 26 | | funeral. The school's administration may waive this 2-day |
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| 1 | | notification requirement if the student did not receive at | 2 | | least 2 days advance notice, but the student shall notify | 3 | | the school's administration as soon as possible of the | 4 | | absence. A student whose absence is excused under this | 5 | | paragraph 7 shall be counted as if the student attended | 6 | | school for purposes of calculating the average daily | 7 | | attendance of students in the school district. A student | 8 | | whose absence is excused under this paragraph 7 must be | 9 | | allowed a reasonable time to make up school work missed | 10 | | during the absence. If the student satisfactorily | 11 | | completes the school work, the day of absence shall be | 12 | | counted as a day of compulsory attendance and he or she may | 13 | | not be penalized for that absence; and | 14 | | 8. Any child absent from a public school on a | 15 | | particular day or days or at a particular time of day for | 16 | | the reason that his or her parent or legal guardian is an | 17 | | active duty member of the uniformed services and has been | 18 | | called to duty for, is on leave from, or has immediately | 19 | | returned from deployment to a combat zone or | 20 | | combat-support postings. Such a student shall be granted 5 | 21 | | days of excused absences in any school year and, at the | 22 | | discretion of the school board, additional excused | 23 | | absences to visit the student's parent or legal guardian | 24 | | relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or | 25 | | legal guardian. In the case of excused absences pursuant | 26 | | to this paragraph 8, the student and parent or legal |
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| 1 | | guardian shall be responsible for obtaining assignments | 2 | | from the student's teacher prior to any period of excused | 3 | | absence and for ensuring that such assignments are | 4 | | completed by the student prior to his or her return to | 5 | | school from such period of excused absence ; and . | 6 | | 9. A child in any of grades 9 through 12 absent from | 7 | | public school on a particular day or days
or at a | 8 | | particular time of day for the purpose of filing a Free | 9 | | Application for Federal Student Aid or other higher | 10 | | education scholarship, grant, or financial aid | 11 | | application. A school
board may require the parent or | 12 | | guardian of a child who is to be excused
from attending | 13 | | school under this paragraph 9 to give
notice, not | 14 | | exceeding 5 days, of the child's absence to the school
| 15 | | principal or other school personnel. A child may be absent | 16 | | from public school under this paragraph 9 for a maximum of | 17 | | 2 school days per school year. | 18 | | Any child from a public middle school or high school, | 19 | | subject to guidelines established by the State Board of | 20 | | Education, shall be permitted by a school board one school | 21 | | day-long excused absence per school year for the child who is | 22 | | absent from school to engage in a civic event. The school board | 23 | | may require that the student provide reasonable advance notice | 24 | | of the intended absence to the appropriate school | 25 | | administrator and require that the student provide | 26 | | documentation of participation in a civic event to the |
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| 1 | | appropriate school administrator. | 2 | | (Source: P.A. 102-266, eff. 1-1-22; 102-321, eff. 1-1-22; | 3 | | 102-406, eff. 8-19-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 102-981, eff. | 4 | | 1-1-23 .)
| 5 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 6 | | becoming law.
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